Pumkpin Carving and Flinging Pumpkin Guts

The kids have been begging to carve pumpkins for weeks. We finally relented and let them carve their pumpkins for family night. Megan and Parker had a blast picking out their patterns and scooping out the seeds. Colton had fun climbing up on the table and flinging pumpkin guts all over the kitchen! We ended up with a cat face, a grim reaper and a spider...ahh I miss the good old days when we spend weeks picking out just the right shape for the eyes, nose and mouth. Fun was had by all, although my kitchen may never be the same...I keep finding seeds everywhere! Sadly enough, the joy of the jack-o-lantern was ended this morning when we awoke to find our pumpkins had become a mushy blob of goo and mold! It's still just too darn hot to sustain the jack-o-lantern. I miss fall in Utah!!!

Tie-Dyed Pumpkin Shirts

Don't kids just make the holidays more fun? The kids are soooo excited for Halloween this year. We got festive by making tie-dyed pumpkin shirts. They were pretty easy and I am impressed that we made it thru without having a tie-dyed kid as well! The boys wanted one big pumpkin and Megan wanted a bunch of little pumpkins. They had a lot of fun drawing the pumpkin faces on their shirts.

Dirt Pile, Sweet Dirt Pile

Yes a big back yard in Vegas actually exists! After moving from our old home, which had a back yard the size of a dog run, the kids are enjoying our new and much bigger back yard. Brian and I sigh every time we look out the back door because we think about the hard work (and moolah) that will be required to get the yard put in. But this does not seem to bother the kids one bit! They are out there starting right when the sun comes up (yes they are in their jammies in this picture but we won't go there) now that the weather has turned cooler. For those of our family and friends in northern climes "cooler" means the 80's. Anyway, what kid wouldn't love a huge dirt pile all to themselves! Parker has built many new roadways, Megan built herself a stage to sing and dance on and Colton plays godzilla and knocks everything down. If I were smart, I would just stay home all day and let my kids play in the dirt pile. Then I would be less likely to do things like, for example, lock my keys in the van (thank you again for rescuing me Tasey!), or go to storytime and have Colton the clepto steal things out of people's purses, or go shopping and have kids fall out of shopping carts......

The next Van Gogh?

Could Parker Levanger possibly be the next Vincent Van Gogh? I am really impressed with Parker's art teacher this year. She taught them all about Van Gogh and then brought in some sunflowers for the kids to draw. This is Parker's masterpiece! I am very impressed...not bad for a 7 year old huh? Anyway, he got art student of the day for this one and we are very proud of him!!

Visit to the Corn Maze

After a stressful week, we decided to head out of town and have some family fun. After Parker's soccer game (which they won 1-0 go Avalanche!) we headed to St. George for our annual trip to the Staheli Family Farm and corn maze. It was a pretty warm day, but we enjoyed the tractor-pulled wagon ride, getting lost in the maze (for a whole 45 min...never let a 7 year old lead the way!), looking at the baby animals, playing on the corn slide, and climbing on haystacks. The kids all had a blast and had to have a nap afterward-woohoo! Also, on an even happier note, the goose egg on Colton's head has disappeared! YAY!

Blessings...in Disguise?

What started out as a "normal" enough week for our family has ended in a bit of sadness. I was shopping with Colton and Megan last week and strapped Colton into the shopping cart. I was turned around looking at birthday cards and before I could even blink he had shimmied his way out of the seat belt and did a nose dive for the floor. He hit his head very hard and cried for about 10 minutes but then seemed ok. We monitored him for the next few days to make sure he wasn't showing any signs of a concussion but he was his normal crazy self so we didn't worry. The next night, Brian was washing Colton's hair and noticed a gigantic goose egg that covered the whole right side of his head...this picture does NOT do it justice. He looks like those aliens on the movie Mars Attacks...poor little guy! Anyway, the goose egg lingered for far too long so we asked a nurse in our ward for advice. She suggested that we take him in to the pediatrician the next day. I panicked when the doctor walked into the room the next day and immediately ordered a CT scan. We went next door to the hospital and they allowed me to wear a lead apron so I could talk and sing to him during the scan so he would hold still and not have to get sedated. They sent us right back to the doctor's office where I was told that Colton has a skull fracture with a small amount of bleeding in the brain. The doctor said the fracture was ok and would heal but the radiologist also found more disturbing information while doing the scan. Colton has enlarged ventricles in his brain and spinal fluid is gradually building up and putting pressure on his head. This condition will most likely require surgery to put a shunt in his head to relieve the pressure. We will see the neurologist next week to know for sure. So basically I bawled my eyes out in the Dr's office and freaked out to everyone I knew on the phone. I feel VERY guilty about him falling out of the shopping cart, but Brian and Dr. Webber both tell me it is a blessing in disguise. If he wouldn't have had the fall...we wouldn't have known about the underlying condition and been able to take care of it. We would probably not have found out until Colton had developmental problems later on. So...I guess it is a blessing but a heartache as well. Dear family and friends, please pray for my sweet baby. This is going to be a bumpy ride. Thank you for all the phone calls and emails of support. We love you and will keep you informed.

Parker and Colton's Star Wars Birthday Party

This weekend we had a Star Wars themed birthday party for Parker and Colton. Poor Parker missed having a party in July due to all the issues with our van so he FINALLY got to have his fun. As you can see from the pictures, I was able to make two lightsaber birthday cakes which turned out really cool. The kids played keep the Death Star in the air (with balloons and light sabers), pod racing (with kiddie bikes...this was hilarious), and a Darth Vader pinata, which we let the kids whack with a light saber. They also played mini golf in our dirt heap of a back yard (I know this has NOTHING to do with Star Wars but I already spent a lot of time setting it up for my cub scouts so there you go...)Fun was had by all. As you can see, Colton's favorite part was playing with the tissue paper and eating the cake and ice cream. Happy birthday boys!